A Fox Surrounded in Darkness (Twisted Wonderland x Encanto nb!reader)

Chapter 33

Your Pov...

Italics- thoughts

⦕That night...⦖

⦓Savanaclaw- Lounge⦔

"What," Ruggie was taken aback. "You guys actually went to the Coral Sea?"

"Honestly, I thought you were smarter than that," Leona laughed.

"But you're the one you said to 'get the ball rolling'," I frown.

"I never said anything about diving headlong into the sea," Leona smirked. "Your time's limited. What I suggestin' was that you use your head and find a worthwhile use of your time. Challenging merfolk head-on in the water is a losing proposition no matter how you slice it. It's like walking into a carnivore's mouth."

"Wait," Jack seemed to have thought of something. "Did you guys know the twins were actually mermen this whole time?"

"Maybe," Leona grinned.

"I saw Floyd in his natural form at a joint swimming class last summer, and boy, let me tell you..." Ruggie chuckled. "If that guy came after me in the water, I'd be done for. End of story."

"It woulda been nice to know that beforehand," Jack growled and I sighed.

"Last I checked, you were the guys who ran off half-cocked without bothering to gather any intel," Leona crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow. "I would've been happy to share it all in detail if you'd asked."

"You gotta cover your bases before you start pickin' fights, y'know," Ruggie laughed. "Back at the Savanna, you gotta tread carefully if you don't wanna end up as someone's dinner."

"Does this mean Azul was planning on interfering from the start when he made the offer," Jack questioned.

"Uh, duh," Leona frowned. "Obviously?"

"The Leech brothers are Azul's top men," Ruggie explained. "They're known for collecting all collateral and compensation from his contractors. And rumor has it they run interference to make sure the contract terms can't be met."

"That's not good to hear," I frown. So Azul was planning on winning by any means from the start. "I'm sure that we'll manage something."

"Leona," Ruggie looked at Leona.

"Azul's signature spell is a golden contract scroll called It's a Deal," Leona gave us the insight of Azul's magic. "It enables the caster to take one power from a target signs the scroll. In addition, in the event of a contract breach, the breacher is compelled to obey Azul's every command to a T."

"They say spells with tricky activation requirements are especially potent, but man... Isn't that messed up," Ruggie shrugged.

"When the power gets taken, it's sealed inside the contract and made available for Azul to use as it suits him," Leona adds.

"Wait, so all those times Azul busted out different sorts of high-difficulty spells like it was nothing..." Jack pondered.

"I'd bet you anything that those were powers he swiped from contractors as collateral," Ruggie finished Jack's thought.

"That's nuts," Jack exclaimed. "That means he's cheating at everything!"

"Technically, Azul wasn't cheating," I said. "The magic was his to use however he wanted. That's what happens when you sign a contract and your magic is the collateral."

"You signed away your powers too," Jack deadpanned.

"You did what," Leona roared. He came over and grabbed my shoulders. "Are you that stupid?"